Saturday, September 1, 2012

Hog Heaven...Sorta

My Baby Sister was in hog heaven when she received her birthday present from her husband. This year he really hit the bigtime. The gift was a HUGE success for something so small. But before you start making assumptions about the present she received, I feel compelled to give you a little background.
Baby Sister grew up wanting to be a vet. Animals were always high on her list and numbered among her best friends. My dear Momma, who does not really like animals of any sort, was persuaded by this daughter of hers to allow all manner of creatures to inhabit our home while the Baby Sister was growing up. To this day I still do not understand how the Baby Sister could get our Momma to do things she would never do for anyone else. The Baby Sister was also famous for bringing home stray dogs and cats and then talking our neighbors into giving them homes. Even now this sister finds it hard to walk by a puppy in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but I digress. Back to the story. Baby Sister graduated from high school and traveled to Auburn University with the veterinary dream intact, but while there she switched over to education. In time she became one of the finest 5th grade teachers in the State of Florida and was selected for all kinds of honors. Baby Sister even went to Disney World as part of the Teacher of the Year recognition program. While she taught every subject, her hands-down favorite was science and as you might imagine, her approach to science was very hands-on and included lots of...you guessed it...investigation and observation of live creatures of all shapes and sizes.
Fast forward. My sister is now retired from the classroom but lives out in the country with her husband. If you live in a city like I do, you don't really know what the country is, unless you have a sister who lives there. Baby Sister and her husband have about 40 acres. My sister knows how to drive a tractor with a bushhog, how to muck stalls and how to care for their animals, both large and small. The Baby Sister and her husband have cows and horses and a huge garden and dogs and a cat. And now, thanks to her husband, the Baby Sister is the proud owner of a...drumroll please...a miniature donkey. Yep, a miniature donkey.

My sister was thrilled. Yep, thrilled. If my husband gave me a donkey, he would be sleeping outdoors with it. But not my sister. She has been asking for one of these for years. And yes, she has endured all kinds of snide and slightly inappropriate jokes about getting said donkey for her birthday. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the donkey yet, but I am sure that I will. Apparently having a miniature donkey is like having another dog. These little creatures are loyal, friendly, great with children and the elderly and live 25-30 years. My sister will definitely be elderly if the donkey lives as long as he is supposed to. I will be elderly before she will so I will be able to tell her if the donkey does indeed get along well with old folks.
The donkey's name is Petey and the great thing is that just like a dog, he comes when he is called. He lives in the pasture with the cows and the horses, but if I know my sister he will soon be allowed to come up right next to the house...if he leaves our great-grandmother's hydrangeas alone, that is. She says that he eats carrots out of her hand and loves to be petted. He sounds spoiled already.

Here is a picture to help you get the scale of the donkey in your head. This is not a picture of my sister.

And in case you are wondering, here are a few interesting facts about miniature donkeys:
To be a miniature donkey, the animal cannot be taller than 36 inches.
A male donkey is a "Jack".
A female donkey is a "Jennet."
Miniature donkeys originated in the Mediterranean area of Northern Africa in ancient times and most recently in Italy and Sardinia.
They live 25-30 years, are sweet and even-tempered, and most owners say that having a miniature donkey is like having another dog.